Banking after a separation or divorce – What you need to know

Following a separation or divorce, you may find your finances have changed – and this is something we want to help you with. We’ve compiled a checklist of some the most important practical things you need to think about when separating from your partner.

Housing loan and home

You may have questions about dividing your family home and joint housing loan after a separation or divorce. Many couples sell the home or sort out their housing loan so that one person stays in the home. We recommend contacting your bank to find the best possible solution for you.

Insurance policies

Check that your non-life and personal insurance policies are up to date and cover your new life situation. It’s especially important to re-evaluate your insurance policies if you have children and you’re the sole provider for your family.

If you have loan cover insurance or another type of life insurance policy, we also recommend that you check who’s listed as the beneficiary of your policy and update the information as necessary.

Cards

If you and your partner are splitting up, remember that you may also have to make changes to your cards. If you have cards linked to a joint account or parallel cards, you may have to cancel these and order new cards. You also need to update your cards if you change your name when you get divorced. To do this, please reach out to our Customer Service. 

Accounts

Try and agree with your ex-partner on what you’d like to do with your joint accounts. You can contact our Customer Service to close any joint accounts or change the persons who are authorised to access the accounts. 

Children

If you and your partner have children together, you will need to pay special attention to their banking. After a divorce, you and your ex-partner will have access to your child’s accounts as before if you have joint custody. Both parents will continue to have access to your child’s accounts until the child turns 18 or you, as the guardians, agree on changing the authorised persons together.

If one parent gets sole custody in the divorce, they will be authorised to make all decisions regarding the child’s banking alone.